As I write this column it is the day after Thanksgiving, and I must say that this year has embodied the true meaning of this holiday for me more than any other in my life. Thanksgiving day, So.Be.Fit. hosted our 2nd annual "SoBe Turkey Trot" 5K and it was a smashing success.

Last year was our first go at it and I pretty much threw it together about 2 weeks before. We had about 40 people attend, and everyone's "registration fee" was to just bring a canned good for St. Vincent De Paul (where my parents volunteer and deliver food to the less fortunate). My friends that own the Pawn Shop Pub loaned us their air pots and my husband and I tirelessly brewed coffee as our participants walked and ran around SoBro. When they returned they munched on the bagels that I had bought, and everyone really had a great experience. So I decided to make it a tradition, we use the Monon trail which is less than half a block from our front door and our course doesn't intersect with the Drumstick Dash (which this year had a record 19,000 participants!).

This year I was hoping to at least double the attendance, and get several of my trainers actively involved to help me pull it off. My trainer Karena suggested that we try to get food/coffee donations; which frankly had never occurred to me. She offered to take on the task to do so and I was happy to let her. . . I honestly thought she would be lucky to get these donations for such a small and off the radar event.

OH my, was I mistaken!! In fact EVERY place she asked happily agreed to donate. Einstein's donated bagels, and The Fresh Market gave us gobs of bananas. Ron Harris, owner of Locally Grown Gardens and our business neighbor donated a slew of apples. I was astounded and humbled by their generosity and it made me so proud with their lack of hesitation to give away their products for this good cause.

However, what was the most selfless thing I have experienced in a long time was the graciousness of Jim and Rose White owners of Yogulatte (corner of 54th and College next to Twenty Tap). I have never met them before; yes, it was a holiday and they were supposed to be closed and not working. But that didn't matter to them! Not only did they provide three large pots of coffee and hot cider (along with all of the cups, creamer, sweetener, etc.), but Jim even went over to Yogulatte during the run/walk to return with pumpkin frozen yogurt and other samples! And to top it off, they stayed the entire time picking up coffee cups and just mingling with their neighbors. Oh wait, and to boot they kept thanking ME. Really?! Their volunteering allowed me to actually run with my participants and not worry about anything. THEY are the ones to thank, clearly.

More so, I was able to get door prizes from several local/small businesses which was very fun for the runners/walkers. Style Salon, Posh Petals, Pawn Shop Pub, Ceramic Dreams, massage therapists Karena Halman and Arty Clark, and So.Be.Fit. all offered promotions for those who came to give on Thanksgiving. In fact as I scroll back up through this article I see that in total 11 businesses were involved in celebrating this holiday with us. . . pretty awesome!

So, what initially seemed as a challenging/stressful to organize event for me actually turned out to be such a pleasant and feel good experience, fueled by businesses in the local community. These are people helping people, who are helping people. In translation, the local donations were for those who are giving to help others. Oh and they also got in a great workout amongst friends and neighbors. This is truly a full circle positive situation where everyone wins (and hopefully the donors will gain business for their charitable efforts. . . I for one know where I am going for coffee this winter 😄)

I cannot wait to hear the reaction of St. Vincent De Paul when my parents drop off the boxes and boxes of food; We didn't tell them we were doing this for them. They feed over 3500 people a week, so the awesome Turkey Trotters are helping to feed so many of these people.

As I said, this year it truly was about being thankful; not about a large meal (which don't get me wrong I adore 😄). And just about all Thanksgiving day run/walks or any event that support a cause such as ours. If you have never experienced this, I urge you to give it a try. I assure you will not regret it; little to no money involved but oh so rich in the holiday spirit!